Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Solo Works for Piano
Carnaval, Op. 9
Papillons, Op. 2
Kinderszenen, Op. 15
Arabeske, Op. 18
Nelson Freire, piano
Recorded at Auditorio Massimo,
Lugano, December 2002
Released October 2003
Decca B0001228 [59:57]
In 2002, Nelson Freire came out of his lengthy hiberation from the world
of recordings with an exceptional disc of Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 3
and Opus 25 Etudes. Now, Decca has released a Freire disc of four famous
Schumann piano works, and the program is a varied one. We get the masked
ball of the Carnaval, a mini-Carnaval in the form of Papillons, the
Kreisleriana that contrasts the adult and child, and the Arabeske which
is a relatively abstract work Schumann wrote to appeal to his audiences.
Since I know Kinderszenen like the back of my hand, I decided to test
the Freire waters first with this work. As many of you know, Kinderszenen
involves Schumann looking back at his childhood. The adult and child
are merged, and any superb performance needs to highlight the duality
of the music's message. This duality immediately takes shape in "Foreign
lands and people" where the adult takes a long look back at the memories
of the child dreaming of foreign worlds through the adult filter. Freire
also immediately establishes his credentials of investing each note with
wide-eyed wonder and nostalgia.
Rhythmic vitality and bounce are the key ingredients to the 2nd Scene
titled "Curious story". Freire's bounce is as good as it gets. Kubalek
is more majesterial and some others are more sharply etched, but nobody
surpasses Freire concerning the exuberance and flow of the music. He
is also excellent in "Catch me - fast, exciting, and youthful. "Pleading
child" receives an equally compelling performance fully reflecting a
naive child who never stops asking trying to get what he wants. At the
same time, the adult is patient and loving.
The 5th Scene, "Perfect Happiness", is played in a delicate yet open
manner by Freire, and "Important Event" is qutie regal in his hands. I
also love how Freire gradually slows down and softens at the conclusion
of the piece in the manner of Kempff on Detusche Grammophon.
Freire's "Dreaming" is again very delicate, peaceful, and enchanting.
His "By the fireside" is light and playful, as if conveying the flicker
of fire reaching skyward. "Knight of the hobby-horse requires a whimsical
attitude delivered with a strong punch; here I do feel that Freire is a
little too forceful.
"Almost too serious" conveys a host of emotions such as mystery,
nostalgia, and comfort in a pristine setting. This is one of Freire's
best performances on the disc with superb pacing and inflections.
"Being frightened" goes very well although the sadness could have
been more pronounced. "Slumbering child" well conveys the initial
melancholy/reflection and the subsequent blissful sleep of the child.
When the twelve Scenes are complete, Schumann finishes up with a Postlude,
"The Poet speaks". This is such a wonderful conclusion to a fantastic
composition. After many scenes of adult and child interacting, the poet
now takes center stage to make sense of it all, to ponder the connections
and disconnects between child and adult. Freire is perhaps at his best
in the Postlude with incisive articulation to convey the poet's insight.
Overall, Freire's performance of Kinderszenen is exceptional. There
are versions more ceremonial, more powerful, and more incisive. However,
Freire brings an irresistible combination of lightness and poignancy to
the work with outstanding rhtyhmic flow and meaningful spaces between
notes. My only proviso concerns the recorded sound that is overly rich
and lacks some definition and clarity. I have the feeling that I'm not
hearing everything that Freire brings to his performance. It's likely
that his reading is more sharply etched and detailed than this particular
soundstage can offer. All I can say is that Decca has traditionally
favored rich sound at the expense of clarity and still has trouble getting
it right. That Freire's performance comes out so well is a tribute to
his artistry.
With Carnaval, we enter a very different world of Schumann's creation.
The adult-child connection is long gone, replaced by layers of emotions
impetuously displayed and uncovered at a masked ball. Given that the
shorter Papillons also involves a masked ball, Schumann could be said
to have had a little obsession going here. From my perspective, he
didn't feel secure in simply being himself out in the world. He created
his imaginary alter-egos in Florestan and Eusebius, two individuals who
displayed the traiits Schumann either would not or could not assume.
His masked balls represent the revealing of core thoughts and emotions
that he wouldn't dare display in public. It's as if there was a entire
person within him dying to get out but too afraid to take the plunge.
Freire is even better in Carnaval and Papillons than the Kinderszenen.
The sudden shifts in personality, tempo, and dynamics which are such
basic features of Carnaval and Papillons are like second nature to Freire.
He relishes the architecture of these two works, and I would be hard
pressed to point to any other recorded versions of decided superiority.
Arabeske also receives an outstanding reading from Freire. Did you
ever hear more haunting and stunning music that in the work's concluding
theme? Well, I haven't, and the Freire performance has the best conclusion
I've yet to hear.
Don's Conclusions: From the comments above, it would appear that this
new Freire/Schumann disc is in the essential category. However, I
am not going to recommend it as being essential because of the sound
characteristics. The overly rich sound is lacking in clarity, definition,
and incisiveness. There are times when I feel that the ancient sounds
of a Benno Moiseiwitsch recording conveys greater detail and shape than
the Freire disc. Therefore, I urge prospective buyers to sample the
sound of the recording before plunging ahead with purchase. As for me,
I can't imagine discarding a Nelson Freire disc. However, it could be
a very long time before I play this one again.
Don Satz
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